Air washing apparatus



Au .4,1931. S UTLER I 1,816,828

AIR WASHING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 22, 1926 INVENTOR. M Z. 58m BY My 888mm A TTORNEYS.

Patented Aug 4 1931 fum reo s'rATas mom. :2. cornea, or runner 3:11., new canary nn. wesnmo arreimrrus Application filed October 22, 1826. Serial No. 143,889.

This invention relates to air cleansing apparatus and more articularly, with regard to some of its detal s, to apparatus designed towash air with a body liquld, a art or all of which is recirculated through t e machine.

An object of this invention is to provide a device of the character described, in which the quantity of spray used in washing the gases may be controlled independently of the velocity of the spray. A further ob ect s to rovide a device of the character described, inwhich the water which has been used to purify the air is itself operated to reduce the amount of impurities contained therein to a minimum. A further object is to produce a device of the character described, which will be simple in construction and easy and reliable in operation. Other objects will be 1n part obvious and in part described heremafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts, which w1ll be exem lified. in the construction hereinafter set fort and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the c aims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connectibn with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevation partly in central section of an apparatus em dying th s mvention.

Fig. 2 is a detail showing certam'of the control elements.

In the drawings the numeral 1 constitutes a casing of generally cylindrical form, having 'a conical bottom 2, forminga sump 3 for the reception of water. The casing also has a top 4, which may be utilized to support a motor 5, havin a shaft 6 extending downwardly, central y through the casing2, for operating therotatmg pumpzing elements to be described. Fan blades ing air inwardly throu h air inlets 9, upwardly through'the casing and out through the outlets 10. The pumping elementcomcarried by a, spider 8, are attached to the shaft 6 for drawprises preferably a plurality of centrifugally dis osed similar cones 11 and 12, attached toget or in parallel, spaced relation to form a unit, which will be hereafter, for convenience, termed the pump. This pump is supported by a spider 13 carried by the vertical shaft 6 for rotation about the axis of the cones. The lower end of the shaft 6 is preferably supported b a bearing 14 carried by a pipe 15, v Erojecte upwardly from the bottom 2. This 0 caring may be conveniently made of ii num vitae Wood, which forms a satisfactory earing even under the conditions existing here. A conical deflector 16 is attached to an inner wall of the casing opposite or below the dis- 05 charge of the spray from the cones 11 and 12, as will hereafter be described, and this deflector is so arranged that it carries the water thrown aglainst the casing inwardly, to be a ain disc .0 a curtain, rom the lower edge of the deflector. This deflector is also preferably so arranged as to carry the liquid inwardly away from the inlet orifices 9, thus preventing water from splashing out of the machine. In the drawin s there are also illustrated a plurality of e iminator plates 17 for the purpose of removing from the air, after 'washing, excess or entrained water.

The mechanism for controlling the spray is as follows :-A plate 18 is carried by a hub 19, carried upon the pipe 15, just below the lower end of the pump and the hub 19 is made adjustable upon the pipe 15' in such a manner that it may be brought nearer to, or

further from the lower end of the pump at will. A circular dam 20 surrounds the lower end of the pump in such a manner as to cooperate with the plate 18 to segregate the water immediately surrounding the lower end of the pump from the main body of "the water in the sump, and to afford communication between that segregated body of water and the main body of water, by means of an annular orifice 21 between the dam and the plate. In the drawings the dam 20 is sup-' ported from the plate by a plurality of studs 22 rigidly attached to the dam and extending through perforations in the plate and having nuts 23 above and'below the plate, so

ar ed into the sump 3 in the form 70 I tained can be accurately re ulated by adportion of the an orifice 24 near the bottom end of the sump,

the discharge of the sludg? bein under the control ofavalve 25 in t e'disc arge pi A. pipe 26 .ma be provided having a va ve 27 to admit 'fres water to the, machine. The. 7 operation ofthe device is as follows :The

sum 2 is first filled with water above the leve of the .bottom of the pumps 'Thereupon the rotation of the motor. 5, carrying the fanand pump with it, willdraw air in at the openings 9 and discharge it through the outlets 10, and at the same time Wlll project a sheet ofspra from the periphery at each of the cones o the amp. The excess water of this spray will all downwardly from the deflector16 as a sheet,'and the air passin through the curtainv and then throng the spray, becomes thoroughly washed and conditioned. The moisture conjusting the temperature of t e wash water and it will leave the water substantial] .sat-

urated. If plates such as 17 be emp oyed, they will serve to eliminate any entra ned water at that point. The inner receptacle formed'by the plate 18 and the dam 20 is the only source of liquid for the pump and the amount of water within this inner receptacle at any moment is determined by the restricted annular orifice 21. At the same time the rotation of the pump has a vortexial efiect upon the water within the inner rece tacle and indirectly upon the water withm the sump, by reason of the communication between the sum and the inner receptacle throu h the restricted orifice; In this manner, t e water within the sump rotates at slow s eed.

Wit this device, it will be noted that the water icked up by the pump thrown to the side 0 the casin falhng into the sump,

gradually accumu ates dust and .dirt from the air, the greater ortion of which is in"- soluble and this inso uble matter adually fall's-to the bottom of the sump. e vortexial action maintainedwithin thesump by the gentle rotation, gradually carries this dirt toward the apex' of the'cone, where it.-

may be discharged through the orifice 24 asdesired;

It will thusbe seen that the restriction. of

the orifice 21 accomplishes two' results:-

First, it controls the amount of spray delivered by the pump and second,'it controls the amount of vortexial action within the great body of the sump; By proper adjust ment not only of the size of this restricted orifi wbut by the extent to which it is subtro the liquid.

. sump and mop-god, one of these factors may be coned out of proportion to the other. For exam 1e, if the orifice is of given size and the p ate .18 and dam 20 are deeply submerged, it results in the fact that t e pump does not dip deeply into the water within the inner receptacle and this causes less vortexial action on the inner liquid, causing less vortexial action in the sump, while at the same time the quantit of moisture dis= charged is notsubsta-ntia y afiected.

The adjustment of the size of the orifice and of the height of the plate and dam are not required to be made during operation,

since the apparatus may be set up to perform a given serv ce and the adjustments made to conform to this service and thereafter no further adjustments need be made.

In the specification it will be observed that the amount of the liquid should be suflicient to ntly move the impurities along the inclined bottom toward the a but it should be so controlle that the swirling liquid within the sum' will not pick up the settled particles and stir them again into Since certain changes may be made inthe above construction and d fferent embodix of the cone,

ments of the invention could be made withabove description or shown inthe accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a mat-- ter' of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

. Having described 'my invention, what I claim as new and desirev to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a device of the character described, asump, a rotary pumping element adapted to dip into said sum an means withm said surroun pumping element for restraining the imparting of rotation to the water of said sump by said pumping element, said means comprising a fixed supporting plate a dam spaced from-said plate, and means i position of the plate within the sum or varying the 2. In a device of the character ascribed,

g the lower end of said III means forcreating 'a liquid spray,'means for ass'in airthrough said spray the sprayed iquid being returned for re-use by the spraying means, and means in said circuit for purifying said water, including a tank having an inclined bottom and adjustable means for assuring a gentle rotational movement throughout the liquid in said tank.

3. In a device of the character described,

in combination a sump, a cone rotating about.

a vertical axis and adapted to extend within said sump, a plate withinsaid sump disposed below said cone, a circular dam within said sump surrounding the lower end of said cone, and means for supporting said dam to form a restricted passage way between said dam and said plate to restrict the flow of water from the other portions-oi said sump to said cone said plate adapted to be variably spaced from the cone.

Ina device of the character described rotating means for spraying liquid, means for passing air through said spray, a tank having an inclined bottom from which the liquid is sprayed and towhich the sprayed liquid is returned, adjustable means for producing a desired rate of rotation of the liquid in said tank to force impurities down the inclined bottom.

5. in a device of the character described rotating means for spraying liquid, means for passing air through said spray,'a tank having an inclined bottom from which the liquid is sprayed and to which the spra ed liquid is returned, and means adjusta 1y positioned with respect to said spraying mechanism for maintaining a gentle movement of the liquid in said tank to force impurities down the inclined bottom, the liquid inthe tank being rotated at a rate appreciably diflerent from that of the liquid proximate to the rotatin means.

6. In a device 0 the character described, in combination, a sump, a rotary pumping element adapted to extend Within said sump, means below said pumping element for con fining the portion of the liquid immediately adjacent to said pumping element from the remainder of'the sump, a restricted opening between said confining means and the remainder of the sump said openin bein adjustable, said means losing adjusta le wit respect to the pumping element.

' Z. An air washing apparatus including a casing formed with openin for the passage of air, ashaft disposed. wit in said casing, a pump secured to said shaft, a blower also attached to said shaft and to circulate air through the casing openings, said, casing receiving a body of fluid and the intake end of said pump being immersed within said fluid,

and means associated with said casing and movable axially towards and away from the intake 'end of the pump to control the flowof iluid into said'pum and the volume of fluid I distributed by-the utter. I

8. An air washing up aratus including a casing formed with openings for the passage of air, a shaft disposed within said casing,

a pump secured to saidshatt, a blower also attached to said shaft and to circulate air through V the casing openings, said casing adapted to receive a body of fluid and the intake end of said pump being immersed within said fluid, means associated with said casing and movable towards and away from the intake end of the pump to control the flow of fluid into said pump and the volume of fluid distributed by the latter, and a collar mounted by said means and adjustable with respect to the same to regulate the flow of fiuidtowards the intake end of the pump and to isolate such fluid from the remainder of the fluid body within said'casing.

9. An air washing apparatus including a casing formed with openings for the passage of air, a shaft disposed within said casing, a pump secured to said shaft, a blower also attached to said shaft and to circulate air through the casing openings, said casing adapted to receive a. body of fluid and the intake end of said pump being immersed within said fluid, means disposed adjacent the intake end of said pump and adjustable towards and away from the same to regulate the volume of fluid passing through said pump, and a tube extending within said casing and acting as a support for said last named means, said tube additionally providing a drain for the fluid body within said casing. v

In testimony whereof i affix-my signature.

SAMUEL G. UUTLER. 

